Swansea was the birthplace of the poet Dylan Thomas. For the past sixteen years his life and work has been celebrated at the Dylan Thomas Centre, a beautiful building in the Maritime Quarter. But this is a place that goes far beyond Dylan Thomas's life and work - it has become a cultural centre to celebrate the arts in general. There's an exhibition, a coffee shop that's also a bookshop, a restaurant and bar, and a theatre where a wide range of events take place. Meeting rooms are used for courses and workshops that have helped countless people discover talents they never knew they had.

Now the Centre is threatened with closure. The only part of the Centre that Swansea's council has agreed to keep in place is the exhibition. The building itself will be handed to the University of Wales on 1st May. On 1st April, following what seemed like a positive meeting with the council, the owner of the bookshop was told to remove all books from the building within 28 days. So far discussions with the University have proved inconclusive and they are not prepared to divulge what their vision is for the future of the building.

The centenary of Dylan Thomas's birth takes place in 2014, an opportunity for Swansea to be a centre for cultural tourism, and yet it seems the town won't have a Centre for these celebrations.

I know Dylan Thomas has a following in the US, so if anyone would like to sign the attached petition, signatures would be more than welcome.

This is the link:

http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/save-the-dylan-thomas-centre.html

With thanks for your support.

Ann